Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing

Pages: 232-236
Nambiar Veena Chindankutty and D. Dhanalakshmi (Department of Applied, Psychology, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry)

Ageing is an inevitable ongoing process of change integral to all living organisms. It is characterized by a progressive deterioration in the biological, mental and social functioning of an individual. Therefore we are bound to prepare for embracing this phenomenon gracefully and explore possibilities of enhancing well-being among the elderly. India's elderly population is projected to rise 41 per cent by 2031 (National Statistical Office, 2021) which shows a dire need for approaching healthy ageing. A few decades ago elderly enjoyed a special place in the Indian family structure but with the advent of urbanization, youngsters have started moving out of the family settings. This has placed the elderly in a vulnerable situation wherein they are either left alone or required in the family for taking care of home and children. Though initially pleasurable it may be taxing as time progresses due to the deterioration of health which eventually affects their overall well-being. Hence this conceptual paper attempts to address the significance of healthy ageing from a eudaimonic perspective of well-being emphasizing the dimension of Purpose in Life propounded by Ryff and Singer (2008) in their model of psychological well-being. This model comprises six key dimensions which are foundational for the process of living well and one among them is Purpose in Life (PIL). It is a promising dimension of eudaimonic well-being which undergoes transition across different phases of life and is associated with better engagement in activities, health outcomes and physical functioning during older adulthood. This signifies the essentiality of addressing PIL for enhancing the eudaimonic well-being of the elderly, which contributes to the process of healthy ageing. Hence this paper highlights the significance of developing Purpose in Life among the elderly by emphasizing the need for engaging themselves actively for their well-being and betterment of society rather than surmising old age as frivolous. This paper underscores the need for recommendations from health care professionals and government policymakers in initiating and implementing meaningful purposes for enhancing eudaimonic well-being among older people.

Pages: 242-245
Manju and Sarvdeep Kohli (Department of Psychology, M. D. University, Rohtak, Haryana)

Medical practitioners, yoga specialists, sociologists, philosophers, and most importantly, psychologists all collaborate in the realm of health. Hypertension is one of the most hazardous health conditions that may result in different chronic illnesses. Despite taking healthy diet, prescribed medication and regular exercise some people still suffer from high blood pressure which indicates role of psychological factors in the development of hypertension. Therefore, the present study was designed to explore differences in the levels of perceived stress and depression among hypertensives and healthy controls. A two group design was adopted in the present study. The sample comprised of 100 participants (50 hypertensives & 50 healthy controls) with the age range of 35-55 years. The tools used for the study were: Perceived Stress Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Data was analyzed by using t-test. Results indicated that hypertensives scored significantly higher on perceived stress and depression than healthy controls. The outcomes suggest that hypertensive individuals require greater psychological management beside medical care.

Pages: 249-252
Neerja Pandey (Amity Institute of Behavioural and Allied Sciences (AIBAS), Amity University, Lucknow Campus, Uttar Pradesh)

The present research work titled, 'EFT to resolve anger issues-A Case Study Approach', is an original work in which effectiveness of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) in reducing anger has been highlighted. Anger being a complex emotion, often masks other emotions and feelings of helplessness. Dealing with anger demands diligent unravelling of the layers of emotions, beliefs, and conditionings to reach the core issue that is tormenting the person. EFT is apt in addressing these layers and effectively reach the core issue. This technique uses subjective unit of discomfort (SUD) as feedback and marker of resolution as insights are gained by the individual. The present paper takes a case study approach where the sample is purposefully selected, and the steps taken to resolve the complexity of their anger are also highlighted. This study attempts to acknowledge the close interplay of mental postulates and emotions. It focuses on how empowering statements (affirmations) and tapping can dispute obsolete mental postulates and encourage a shift in perspective within few rounds of intervention. With one case introduction and two case studies of anger, EFT is found to be an empowering tool that is effective in regulating maladaptive tendencies and de-constructing malformed belief systems pertaining to anger.

Pages: 258-263
Chengol Mallesham1 and Thipparapu Rajesh2 (Selection Centre Central, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh1 and Department of Psychology, Mizoram University, Aizawl, Mizoram2)

The objective of the present study is to study the impact of training about time perspective on Taekwondo athletes' time profiles, sports anxiety throughout physical activity, aggressive behaviour, and positive and negative experiences. The study was carried out by employing a single group pre-training and post-training experimental design. Six athletes (1 female & 5 males) underwent six time-perspective training sessions over the course of three weeks. A questionnaire which measures time perspective, a questionnaire which measures aggressive behaviour, physical activity questionnaire and sport anxiety questionnaire, and a questionnaire of positive and negative experiences were used to conduct pre and post-tests for the athletes. The Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test was employed, and its results indicated that a statistically significant difference in future time attitude, anxiety (physical activity as well as sport), and hostile behaviour. The post-test revealed significantly lower scores for the Future-Positive time attitude, but significantly higher scores for sport anxious individuals during physical activity, as well as hostile behaviour than the pre-test scores. Emphasising on a certain area of time profile may contribute to negative repercussions by fuelling anxiety (physical activity & sport) and hostility among the Taekwondo athletes. Hence, the psychologists and coaches need to design psychological interventions that include ideal time profiles, to give participants opportunities and experience handling the past, present, and future associated with their training and competitions in a practical way.

Pages: 270-273
Harbans Lal (SNDT Women University, Director-Forum of Behavioural Safety, Mumbai, Maharashtra)

Several reports indicate that fast delivery boys risked their life and of others on the road for express service. The start-up entrepreneurs like Swiggy, Zomato, DominoZ, Zepto, and others are playing with public life and promoting unsafe behaviours/ unsafe conditions, causing thousands of near misses. The delivery boys rush so fast that they don't see traffic lights, speed limits etc. Governments should put some control on such time bound businesses where lives are at-risk. Fast delivery with fast at-risk behaviors on the road with 10-20-25-30 minutes delivery is fatal idea. Companies must demonstrate behavioural safety compliance clearance with 100% zero-harm culture. Qualitative research in this paper makes a lot of sense in this regard. 201 industry professionals participated in the study to reflect on the issues and solutions. For sustainability of delivery industry, it is crucial to not to overlook the safety standards to save the riders from injuries and fatalities. It is possible to sustain both the safety culture and industry. Industry requires a connected safety culture which defines a connect among people. It is recommended to drive long term safety culture in promoting Business Sustainability.

Page: 01-06
Daanesh M. Umrigar and Rajendra Mhaske (Department of Psychology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, Maharashtra)

To explore the psychological health, as well as the levels of marital and sexual satisfaction, of wives of patients with a chronic illness. The sample consisted of 34 women, whose husbands were diagnosed with, and were undergoing treatment for a chronic illness (Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), Diabetes; or Cancer). Correlational and comparative analysis were conducted on the data. Clinically significant marital and sexual dissatisfaction were found. Wives reported moderate levels of depression and anxiety, but severe levels of stress. Depression and Sexual satisfaction were found to be significant predictors of marital satisfaction. Wives are impacted by the illness status of their spouse. The additional stress of caregiving, along with societally ascribed roles and responsibilities on women creates a more difficult, stressful environment, which affects the relationship satisfaction as well as psychological health and well-being.

Page: 12-17
Monika Rikhi (Department of Applied Psychology, Sri Aurobindo College (Eve), University of Delhi, Delhi)

The world is grappling with Covid-19 pandemic for almost two years now. The human population has been affected at all strata in innumerable ways. The elderly seems to be the worst impacted not only at the physical health level but psychologically too. A meta-analytic understanding of elderly research clearly shows their high susceptibility to the pandemic conditions. The lockdown conditions led to a collapse of the social support networks enjoyed by the urban elderly population. The traditional roles of family members, relatives, domestic helps and paid caregivers as support systems, metamorphosised with the announcement of the lockdown. The study purports to understand the changed social support networks that the elderly population has used to satiate their physical, social and psychological needs during the lockdown period. A sample of the urban elderly population was studied for the social support networks using a standardized psychometric test. To understand the altered support systems during the pandemic lockdown a group of volunteers working with the elderly population was interviewed. This helped to understand the assistance provided by them for various needs expressed by the elderly population. The discussions and interviews have been taken as a source to develop a possible understanding of the elderly social support networks in the urban Indian settings for active ageing under modern critical conditions.

Page: 22-28
Sayantani Chatterjee (Department of Psychology, Loreto College, Kolkata, West Bengal)

Life undergoes different changes at different points of time, with both pleasure and displeasure being its integral parts. Adolescence having its own simplicity also imbibes complexities of various kinds. Early adolescents are referred to as 'teens,' and late adolescents as 'youths'. Adolescence is a launching phase of striving for self sufficiency. The purpose is to determine differences in psychosocial correlates of high and low suicidal risk groups in adolescents. Purposive random sampling has been used for selecting 380 individuals. The scores on the Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire are used to segregate individuals into 'High' and 'Low' Suicidal Risk Groups by method of Median Split. Statistical measures used are Mean, Standard Deviation, t-test. For early adolescents, two groups differed significantly on psychiatric morbidity, self enhancing humor, aggressive humor, happiness, locus of control. High suicidal risk group scored high on psychiatric morbidity, aggressive humor, self-defeating humor, locus of control. Low suicidal risk group scored high on reasons for living, affiliative humor, self enhancing humor, happiness. For late adolescents, two groups differed significantly on psychiatric morbidity, aggressive humor, self defeating humor, happiness, locus of control. High suicidal risk group scored high on psychiatric morbidity, aggressive humor, self-defeating humor, locus of control. Low suicidal risk group scored high on affiliative humor, self-enhancing humor, happiness. The findings imply the need to give due emphasis on mental health functioning and the utilization of positive resources by adolescents to survive the stresses of this period and not to feel meaningless about their existence.

Page: 35-42
N. Savya1, A.S. Guru Prapanna Sri2, and K.P. Naachimuthu3 (Psychologist, Ernakulam, Kerala1, Department of Psychology, PSGR Krishnammal College for Women, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu2, Department of Psychology, PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu3)

The Impostor Syndrome (IS), characterized by intense feelings of self-doubt and a fear of being exposed as 'fraud' is being increasingly reported among Gen Z (Goel, 2021). It involves the person being excessively concerned with their social image due to their feelings of inadequacy. In other words, they remain in a perpetual state of heightened self-consciousness. A way to counter the experience of IS would be to turn down the volume of their ego and develop a more balanced sense of self-perception while being more accommodative of others in their environment. Quiet Ego (QE) is a self-identity that counters the loudness exuded by egotism. It is nurtured through deliberate self-reflection which people of the fast-paced world seldom have the time to engage in. The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown, however brought a temporary cessation to the drill. Drastic changes in the working arrangement, a feeling of being imprisoned at home, a constant threat of being affected by the virus has affected the lives of people in many ways. The present study aimed at exploring the relationship between IS and QE among Gen Z and the effect of lockdown on QE. The study was conducted using a mixed model research design, in two phases. Quantitative data from 76 participants were analysed using Pearson correlation and simple linear regression. Qualitative data from an in- depth interview of 44 participants were thematically analysed through manual coding. No significant correlation or regression between the two variables was found. The qualitative analysis yielded the themes under two major aspects-interpersonal (close circle & global community) and intrapersonal (engagement, outcome of introspection, effects of personality). The subthemes of the same are elucidated along with the implications.

Page: 48-52
V.P. Neeraja and K.P. Naachimuthu (Department of Psychology, PSG College of Arts & Science, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu)

COVID-19 global pandemic has created a lot of stressful life events for the individuals. Some coped to this new way of living but the ones who couldn't develop mental distress. Sleep problems are common at the best of times, all the stress, worry created by this pandemic have made existing sleep difficulties even worse. Poor sleep quality is one of the major problem among young adult population, females showed more sleep related problems than males. The aim of the present study is to find out the effect of yoga nidra on quality of sleep among young female adults during Covid-19 pandemic. This quasi -experimental design was conducted among 24 young female adults, which were allocated equally into intervention and control group. The questionnaire used in the study was Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Intervention group was instructed to do yoga nidra for 3 weeks, every night for 30 minutes. Then both intervention and control group evaluated after 3 weeks. Data were analyzed using paired t test and correlation analysis. Data analysis showed that there was a significant difference in Global PSQI score (p < 0.01) for experimental group before and after the intervention. No significant difference found in the control group (p = .157) before and after the yoga nidra intervention. The study concluded that yoga nidra significantly improved the sleep quality among young female adults during Covid-19 pandemic.

Page: 57-59
Sanjay Fotedar1, Vikas Bhatti2, Vinay Rampal3, Zahid H. Gilani4, and Surinder Kumar5 (Department of Internal Medicine, Pt. B.D. Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak, Haryana1,2,5, Department of Internal Medicine, Govt. Medical College, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir3, Department of Pharmacology, Govt. Medical College, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir4)

People living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) are at high risk of developing secondary infections, after seroconversion and with decreasing CD4 count the incidence of tuberculosis increases and adds to morbidity and mortality. Management includes concurrent treatment of HIV infection and specific management of tubercular infection. To study the clinical profile and disease outcome of tuberculosis in patients living with HIV/AIDS infection (PLHA). A prospective study from a tertiary care centre at Northern India. Patients with HIV/AIDS infection (PLHA) presenting with signs and symptoms of tuberculosis, diagnosed as cases of tuberculosis (pulmonary and extra pulmonary) were evaluated with respect to clinical profile, disease characteristics and socio demographic profile and respective data collected. 132 patients with HIV/AIDS infection diagnosed as cases of tuberculosis were included in study and data evaluated. Common clinical features included fever (84.4%), weight loss, (81.8%), cough with hemoptysis, followed by headache and altered sensorium. CD4 count <250 was significantly associated with tubercular infection with males effected more than females. Patients were diagnosed as having tubercular infection by AFB staining, Non-resolving pneumonitis on chest X-ray, HRTCT chest besides sputum culture, ESR, Monteux test, FNAC of lymph nodes and CSF study in extra pulmonary tubercular patients. The disease burden is more in developing and underdeveloped nations with high incidence of human immunodeficiency virus infection. Individuals infected with HIV infection may develop tubercular infection in course of HIV disease or may present with signs and symptoms of tubercular infection before being diagnosed as having HIV infection. The incidence of tubercular co-infection in PLHA is directly influenced by CD4 count and increases with fall in CD4 count. High degree of clinical suspicion with prompt evaluation for secondary infection including tuberculosis and timely management is associated with better outcomes.

Page: 70-74
Chanda Rawat (Department of Human Development & Childhood Studies, Delhi University, Delhi)

The present study analyzed the emotional maturity of 320 adolescents across their ordinal position. Samples were selected randomly from two different geographical areas of Uttrakhand in which 42 samples were found to be 1st born, equal number of samples were 2nd and 3rd born (59 samples) in Uttarkashi (hilly terrain) and in U.S. Nagar (plain terrain) 50 samples were 1st born, 46 samples were 2nd born and 64samples were 3rd born. A demographic questionnaire was developed and administered to assess the socio-demographic characteristic of adolescents and emotional maturity was measured using Emotional Maturity Scale. One way ANOVA was applied to calculate the significant difference in emotional maturity of selected adolescents across their ordinal position. Results showed no significant difference in composite emotional maturity of adolescents from both districts across their ordinal position. However, first born respondents from both the districts were seen to significantly differ on two components of emotional maturity viz. they were significantly more independent and socially well-adjusted as compared to second and third born.

Page: 79-82
Shipra Sharma and Vandana Sharma (Department of Psychology, S.D. (P.G.) College, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh)

The objective of this investigation was to analyze the relationship between family environment and depression among adolescent students. The study consisted 300 adolescent students (150 male & 150 female) selected through stratified random sampling. The age range of the sample group was between 14 to 17 years. They were taken from C.B.S.E. board schools of Ghaziabad city. The tools of the study, Family Environment Scale by Bhatia and Chadha and Cornell Medical Index Health Questionnaire by Wig, Pershad, and Verma, for Depression were used. Statistical analysis used for the present study were correlation and multiple regression. A significant negative correlation was found between family environment and depression among adolescent students in terms of family cohesion, expressiveness, acceptance and caring, independence, active-recreational orientation, organization and control except Conflict which was positively correlated to depression. In addition, three dimensions of family environment, i.e., independence, conflict and organization emerged as predictors of depression among adolescents in the present study.